


Courtship 101

by Amatie1



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: A bit of mutual pining, I hope I'm doing this right???, M/M, Shance Cafe Valentine's Exchange, Werewolf AU, Werewolf Courting, a whole lotta fluff, and fluff, galra sweet enough to go away and stay out of fic while these dorks sort themselves out, is there an opposite to slow burn because this is that, supportive yet confused friends!, this is my first time posting fic to ao3
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 16:36:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17790935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amatie1/pseuds/Amatie1
Summary: It was almost funny, Courtship 101 - apparently even being in space isn’t a good enough excuse for the biological instincts to take a breather, go figure.





	Courtship 101

**Author's Note:**

> This is my gift for Inoshi, as part of the Shance Cafe Valentine's Exchange! I hope you have/had a wonderful Valentine's day. I adored your courting wolves with confused teammates prompt, so I hope I did it justice, because I had a lot of fun writing this! ^^

Lance tugged his hood over his head, sinking to the floor miserably. Courtship Season. It was Courtship Season. Where all the good little Wolves went out and found someone they could see themselves tied to, someone they could live together with. And it was driving him insane. 

Not only was he in space, as far as he could get from any kind of meet-up, but the only other Wolf was his Hero, Shiro! Cheeks burning, he pulled the string of his hoodie, forcing it to close tighter, hoping to disappear into a void of nothingness. 

Shiro, who was strong, brave; beautiful. That Shiro. 

Lance was screwed, in other words. He had, what you could say, a fascination with the man ever since he’d first seen him. Found out who he was, what he’d accomplished. Lance could freely and easily admit that Shiro was his Hero, that Shiro had inspired him, that meeting him had been a dream come true. 

And that was all it had been! And now, after meeting Shiro, Lance could honestly say whoever had said you should never meet your Heroes should eat those words. If anything, Shiro was even better than he was on paper. 

Who could blame him for being a little in love with that? Really? It was like asking the sun not to shine! 

So, yeah. Lance was screwed. In a big way. Veronica was going to laugh herself silly, if she ever found out about this. Never mind her constant teasing about his platonic, hero worship of the man, Veronica had never let him live that down, Veronica would find this whole situation a gold mine. 

Lance is never going to tell her. 

“Paladins, report to the bridge immediately!”

“Of course,” Lance said, lifting himself with a groan. And here he thought he could have a moment’s peace, he should have known. “What, a guy can’t panic in private anymore without being interrupted with the fate of the universe?!”

The trip to the bridge was slow, and Lance knew he was only going to get into trouble for being late again, but to hell with it. His skin felt too tight, he had a headache, and he already knew the coming weeks were going to suck. His Wolf lonely and itching to socialise, insisting on chasing out the other Wolf they could smell, which was a bad idea and could you not. 

Against his will, his eyes seeked out Shiro immediately as he entered the room, envious at how in-control he seemed. Unbothered. Focused on the here and now, planning to solve whatever had happened, or something equally as important, no doubt. Not even a twitch of the nose to signify anything. 

Ugh, how was he so perfect?

All but wilting to the floor into a puddle of angsty goo, Lance prayed for the bottom of the ship to open up, jettison him into space. Anything, he wanted anything, but having to put up with the next few weeks. The pangs of loneliness from his Wolf; the itching to change, to howl, to present himself as a candidate to the only other Wolf on board: Shiro. 

Which, come on, seriously? Shiro must already have a mate back home, Lance was sure of it. A guy like that? With that smile? There was no way he was single. And, if he was, there was no indication that he would choose Lance. They barely talked outside of Voltron stuff. 

Ah yes, the true romance builder - work and near-death experiences. 

Allura cleared her throat, apparently finished discussing whatever with Shiro. “Paladins, the Galra have been unusually quiet these last few days - there have been no distress signals, no sign of trouble. We shall keep an eye out for any, of course, but for now, we can use this time to build alliances, solidify them, to recover our strength.”

Lance held back a grimace through sheer force of will, pasting a smile on to not draw attention to himself; he should have been thrilled, whooping with relief like Hunk, and normally he would have. But, come on, it would have been the perfect distraction! Him and Blue, fighting bad guys, taking names, being the heroes. There would have been no time to think about stuff, stuff Lance did not want to think about. 

And now, this moment, right here, the Galra decide to take a vacation?!

“However,” Allura said, though a smile tugged at her lips. “That does not mean we can let ourselves forget our mission, to stop our training. I expect you to take this, ah, ‘time off’, to train just as hard, understood? We could take this time to work on your bonds with the lions, too. Make them even stronger.”

Lance shuffled his feet, unwilling to look up lest his eyes were drawn to a certain Leader. He’d have to avoid him, Lance decided. Just until it all blew over. They rarely hang out outside of Voltron duties, so it’s not like it would be weird, right? Just two Wolves, not acknowledging each other. 

Couldn’t be too hard.

“Dismissed.” Allura said, pulling Shiro aside. Coran sticking close to the Princess, as always. Lance slipped out before anyone noticed that he hadn’t said a word, cracked a joke, tried his best lines on the princess; noticed that he wasn’t acting like himself. 

It was just a few weeks, he could do that, right?

Restless and just itching to run and howl and jump, Lance changed his direction abruptly; unwilling to go back to his room to sit in the dark and just think, Lance needed to burn off energy. Maybe work on his hand-to-hand combat - his aim was excellent, thank you very much, he wasn’t the sharpshooter for nothing, but he did need work on his close combat - Allura would be proud. 

\----

“Lance?” Shiro’s voice cut through Lance’s concentration, making him miss, and he yelped as the robot took advantage of his slip up, flipping him over until he landed in a painful heap; not moving because this was his life now, apparently, and Lance was begrudgingly accepting it. “Lance!”

“I’m fine, Shiro,” Lance said, blinking as a hand was held in front of him. Trailing up it, he met concerned grey eyes. Forcing a laugh, he dropped his gaze, taking the hand in front of him, decidedly not focusing on how warm the hand was. How good Shiro smelt. “I, you know, meant to do that.”

“You.. meant to do that?” Ooh, not fair. A smirk and amusement in his voice? Why didn’t Shiro just kill him and get it over with.

Intending to retort to safe face, Lance didn’t get the chance as Shiro suddenly pulled him up, almost causing them both to fall over as Lance crashed into Shiro. This is my life, Lance groaned. Of course this would happen. What next? Walking in on Shiro shirtless? His life was turning into a shitty romcom and Lance refused to deal with it.

Putting his hands on Shiro’s chest, Lance pushed himself back, coughing. “Sorry, Shiro!” Lance stepped back. “Tripped over my own feet, there, guess I better get to my room before I trip over something else, huh? That gladiator must have knocked my head harder than I thought!”

His eyes caught Shiro’s, and oh, they were grey. He’d never really noticed before, never took the time to study them. With the scar and the hair, the man himself, the eyes got lost behind the flashiness. They were expressive; warm, kind. Beautiful, really. Fitting for Shiro, who was everything and more. 

Lance slowly raised his arms, wondering what he was doing but unable to stop, hovering it in the air, slowly moving it forward, almost touching Shiro before dropping it and backing up. His wide eyes still locked onto Shiro’s equally startled ones. Shiro’s grey eyes flicked to his dropped arm, before coming back to Lance’s eyes, both in a stalemate. Neither wanted to move away, and neither wanted to make the first move. 

What the hell was he doing?

His finger twitching, Shiro repeated Lance’s actions almost in their entirety to Lance’s not so hidden shock, hand almost touching Lance’s cheek before he spooked, moving back, never looking away. Silent questions itching to be asked, though neither Lance or Shiro wanted to be the one to break the silence, the fragile moment that they had accidentally stumbled upon. 

Or, rather, Lance had caused by being an idiot, and letting his Wolf dictate his actions. Taking advantage of his probable concussion, for shame. 

Still, it wasn’t unheard of, to fall into a fragile state. Soft, uncertain. Treading waters carefully, seeing if contact was welcome, if more could be possible. It was old, their way of life, hard-wired into any Wolf’s subconscious. Even if the person forgot, the Wolf never did. 

Wolf’s mated for life, a mantra drilled into every young Wolf. So be careful. 

The only thing that stopped them from rushing through this old-fashioned, instinctual ritual. That maybe the only reason that they could be a candidate was the lack of any other - and oh, didn’t that just send a spike of hurt?

That they were just a stand-in for the other, the best option because there wasn’t any other option to consider; that this never would have happened if they were back on Earth, where Wolves were a-plenty. 

“Shiro?” Lance squeaked, abruptly breaking the spell. Shiro didn’t answer, and Lance’s heart sank, unable to read Shiro, even now. Oh, the startlement was clear, the hesitation, but anything that could clue Lance in onto what Shiro thought of this was nowhere to be found. It made Lance feel sick. 

Time for some damage control. Lance backed off. “Sorry, Shiro! You came here to train, right? I’ll just get out of your way.”

“Wait,” Shiro said. “Wait, Lance.” Flustered, the older-man gently and slowly placed his flesh and blood hand on Lance’s right shoulder, though expecting it Lance still froze. Unable to believe this wasn't a dream, that this was actually happening. 

And Shiro looked as terrified as he felt. Lips parting, Lance couldn’t think of anything to say. This is what I think it is, right? Seemed too forceful for something like this. He could try a pick-up line, but all of them had left him, his mind blank, filled with Shiro’s scent and touch and holy shit this was actually happening, wasn’t it?

Fingers shaking a little, he closed his right hand around Shiro’s arm, perhaps gripping a little tight, though Shiro didn’t voice any complaint. If anything, Shiro couldn’t look away from his hand, his eyes wide; mouth parted. 

Was he as lost for words as Lance was? That was comforting, to know that he wasn’t alone in this. Whatever this is. Lance ignored the little voice that whispered Courtship, how content his Wolf was, because this had to be something else, right?

Right?

There had been no announcement of intentions, this could easily just be comfort. Wolves were not built for solitary lives.

Gulping, Lance dropped his gaze, only to search out Shiro’s eyes again, unwilling to look at them for long, but unable to stop himself from seeking them out. His heart bursting with feelings unsaid. 

“Shiro,” Lance said. “I, Shiro?” Turning the name into a question, seeking out an answer from an equally baffled partner. Taking a shaky step forward, closer to Shiro. Lance knew how it went, the traditions, it started so simple, really. Being held, touching. Everyone held wild fantasies about how Wolf courtship went, each rumour more over the top than the next. 

But the start was so simple; a touch, a look. Consent. 

“Lance, are you in her-” Pulling back abruptly, Lance flushed, unable to look Shiro in the eye, all but running up to a startled looking Hunk. Hunk looked from Lance to Shiro, eyes wide. Lance dragged him away before he had any chance to question them, though Hunk still sputtered questions over what he’d just walked in on, unfortunately the one subject Lance did not want to talk about. 

Sorry Hunk. 

“Lance, what was that, Lance, wait!”

“Later, Hunk!” Or, never. 

Shiro, in a similar state, fled the scene in the opposite direction, as if removing himself from the room could erase what had just occurred; though his heart swelled at the reciprocation, the doubts lingered, souring what should have been a sweet, momentous moment. 

What was he supposed to do with that?

They hadn’t talked, no confirmation, they’d just done… that. Given in to instincts, which was natural, it happened all the time. Shiro just hadn’t thought it would happen with Lance, Lance who adored Allura, that Lance! Not that he was complaining, no, Lance was lovely. Handsome and funny, and Shiro was screwed, okay?

It was almost funny, Courtship 101 - apparently even being in space isn’t a good enough excuse for the biological instincts to take a breather, go figure. 

But! Lack of talking, not good. Maybe he’d misunderstood the situation? Misread it, somehow? Shiro was the only other Wolf on board the Castle of Lions, and Shiro knew how insistent the Wolf could be, his own whining at an interrupted courtship; leaving him alone to sulk. 

Shiro grimaced. He needed to talk to Lance…

Or, wait. A guy like Lance, energetic and flirty and so loving, would he really want to enter into a Courtship so early in life? With Shiro? Shiro didn’t know the answer to that, painful though it was to admit. There was nothing he’d like better than to ask Lance for a chance, but could he really risk it all like that…?

Okay, new plan: He could ignore it and carry on as normal?

Good plan. 

\-----

Lance had come here to think, while everyone else slept. Going over and over the interaction, denying the nature of it, though it was exactly how his Mamá had described, time and time again. How she had met Lance’s Papá, the instant connection, the drawn out Courtship, to test compatibility. Lance knew it all, had begged to hear it over and over multiple times, just as enthralled with the story every time. 

He had longed for the day he would find that, what they had. Love and adventure, all wrapped up in one. 

“Can’t sleep?” Jumping, Lance looked over his shoulder, hand over his chest. Shiro stood, sheepish, hands held in front to placate Lance. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I thought, I thought you heard me.”

Silence, from both of them. Similar to before, just as wrought with things left unsaid. 

“We should… talk?” Shiro said, sitting beside him, a tangible weight. It made it seem more real than it felt. Because what else could this be, but a dream? Shiro sitting beside him, wanting to talk about something that had only ever been a fantasy? 

Or maybe it was a rejection? They hadn’t talked, it had caught them both by surprise, Lance knew. Neither had given consent for the go-ahead. A rejection or an acceptance, which would be the more likely outcome, here?

“About what?” Lance said, stalling for time. Futily hoping that Shiro wouldn’t bring it up now, when he wasn’t ready. “The Galra going on vacation, I mean, what’s up with that? They work for 10,000 years and all of a sudden they decide to have a party? Not that I’m complaining, but seriously, I mean-”

“Lance.” Shiro said, cutting him off, not unkindly. Swallowing, Lance kept looking at the stars, knowing he would break if he looked at Shiro. He’d only just decided to ignore it, too, is that the best he could do, really? Barely a day? 

But would waiting really be better, hanging onto a foolish hope? Wasn’t it better to get it over with? At least then Lance would know, for certain. Wouldn’t it be worth it, just for that? His Mamá had always said anything worth having was worth fighting for. Lance could, at the very least, try for it.

Shiro didn’t seem inclined to continue on, waiting patiently beside him. Looking at the same stars. His fingers held a light shake, his heart racing, but Shiro could wait. No matter how convinced he’d made himself earlier, ignoring a problem had never helped anyone. Shiro couldn’t handle the what-ifs that would hang over him if he never tried. This was too important, and Lance was worth it.

So, maybe he should be the one to start it?

“Shiro I-”

“Lance, I-”

Talking over each other, they both stopped at the same time. Still unable to fully face the other, they looked at each other from the corner of their eyes, instead. Lance almost wanted to hit his head against the wall, what was he doing? Lance could flirt! He’d been at meetups before! He’d even been rejected before! This should be a piece of cake. 

Except the cake was Shiro, and what was he supposed to do with that? His Hero. Courtship. Two things he’d never thought to mix together before, at least seriously. Lance could admit to fantasies of it, of something happening between him and Shiro, but it wasn’t like he’d thought anything would come of it! 

At least, up until now. Lance had never considered he’d one day bare his feelings, be this vulnerable, to his hero. 

Lance was happy platonically worshipping the man. Platonically - Veronica would have a few choices words about that, but she’s not here now, is she? Can’t make her brother accept things he’s fully capable of suppressing, with a bit of denial added in. Self-preserving denial, Veronica. 

“Lance.” Shiro said, then paused, at a loss. 

“Shiro.” Lance said, not having anything to add, but starting to find it a little funny. Him, the charmer, and Shiro, the leader, and they both failed at anything to do with Bonding. The most simple thing in the world, according to his Mamá. 

And no words would come out except each other’s name. 

Even Shiro’s lip started to curl into a smile, catching on to the shift of Lance’s mood; Shiro’s eyes crinkling, and that, that right there, broke the rest of it. The mood softening, for all that Lance’s heart was beating hard enough to jump out of his chest. “Lance,” he said, warmly. “I, I’ve come to ask you about..”

“About this?” Lance said, a laugh in his voice, surprised at his own boldness. He’d been so afraid. So scared of being vulnerable, with the one person he cared more deeply for than he had ever admit before. Denial was safe, easy.

“I’d like to try courting you, can I?”

Oh, well now, that was different, wasn’t it? Denial had to run out some time. Denial would never have gotten him this.

“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing, Shiro.”

If anyone walked in on the two, they’d see them smiling at each other, warm and soft and loving. 

\-----

“Hey, Shiro, I - what are you two doing?” Pidge said, flatly, eyes narrowing as she took in her two teammates, locked in what appeared to be a competitive embrace, if the way they guiltily stared at her, though made no move to extricate themselves from each other, was any indication. 

“Pidge!” Lance yelped, one of the two, and the more obvious of the pair. He was always findings ways to cause her soul to leave her body. But the other, Shiro, looked at her just as startled, most likely having used every bit of his will-power to stop himself from squeaking like Lance had. 

… and they still made no move out of each other's personal space, if anything, they seemed even closer. Lance’s chin perfectly atop Shiro’s head, arms and legs wrapped around him, it was almost sweet. Almost. More than anything, it was bizarre, and this might be a Lance thing through and through, but Shiro?

“Bonding!” Lance said, easy grin back in place, thought it wavered a little at her flat stare. “We’re bonding, isn’t that right Shiro?” Emphasis on the word Bonding. It wasn’t like Lance to not spout everything immediately, nothing following the vague as hell explanation. 

Shiro cleared his throat, looking almost uncomfortable, which made a sliver of glee break through the confusion. Oh, how she wished she had brought a camera. After this was all over - weird behaviour explained, properly - this was going to be priceless. 

“Yeah,” Shiro said. “Yeah, bonding. That’s it.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Honestly! It’s a Wolf thing,” Lance said, with a smile she didn’t trust one bit. “Happens every year, except this time we’re in space and apparently not being on earth isn’t a problem for the old, trusty Wolf instincts! Gotta love ‘em.”

Wolf instincts, the catch-all excuse whenever they, being her and every non-wolf member, asked about something relating to them, being Lance and Shiro. Oh, it’s just the silly old Wolf instincts. Well, Lance used it more often, though Shiro had used it once or twice to explain away something he didn’t want to talk about. 

But this? Bonding? What sort of bonding was this? Aggressively hug all the sad thoughts out of Shiro? Which, sure. Okay, she could get behind that. A little forceful, but subtle didn’t seem to work on Shiro, anyhow. 

And yet Pidge had an inkling that she didn’t have the whole picture, that something was here and she was missing it, and it was driving Pidge up the wall. 

“Wolf thing,” Pidge said, flatly. “Mind giving a bit more information to that explanation of yours?”

“Contact,” Shiro was the first to break, Pidge doing her best to ignore the continued presence of Lance; who had not let go of Shiro, and seemed to be clinging tighter by the second, chin still perched on top of Shiro’s head. “It helps, Wolves aren’t solitary, Pidge. And we’re far from home, there isn’t any other Wolf here. There’s nothing to hear.” Shiro was giving his best puppy eyes, damn him. It was super effective. 

Pidge didn’t trust them one bit - though that’s not to say they didn’t not work. 

“Fine,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes. “I’ll leave you to your wolf-bonding-cuddling.”

“Wait, Pidge,” Shiro said, pushing up a little - ignoring Lance’s grumbling as he almost pushed him off his perch - as if he’d just realised why Pidge had come in the first place. “Did you need something?”

“It can wait,” Pidge said, already half-blocking them out. “Don’t let me disturb your Wolf instincts.”

As she backed away, they didn’t even give her the courtesy of leaving the room fully. Between one moment and the next, Shiro flipped Lance over; they both shrieked as they fell off the sofa, though Shiro quickly recovered, taking the spot previously held by Lance, chin squarely on the top of Lance’s head as he curled around him, Lance’s laughter bright and loud. His claims of it being unfair lost in the wake of his pure, unhindered joy.

Pidge would deny, under threat of torture, how seeing them so carefree brought a grin to her face. It was still weird as hell - Lance and Shiro? And what kind of explanation was that? They were definitely hiding something - and she still had so many questions, but she could spare them a day or two. 

In the meantime, Pidge would find Hunk to go over it with instead, maybe go over their other calculations some. Subtly ask if he’d noticed anything weird about Lance and Shiro; if anything, Hunk would know about any peculiarities displayed by Lance. 

Oh, she’d give them some time to ‘bond, but once they’d had their fun, and they lowered their guard, all bets were off.  
\-----

Lance grit his teeth, glaring at the very air, refusing to turn and look at the sound; to let out the harsh tone that he wants to. Demand that they stop and go away, that he didn’t want them anywhere near him, that this was his space and he didn’t want it invaded. 

That is - the living room. 

Shiro, similarly, tapped his finger against his arm, mouth turned down into a truly epic frown, the glare that he sent anyone that even thought of moving enough to make them back away. What the hell was going on?

Even breathing seemed enough to set them off! And affection was a no go, the way Lance had all but hissed at Hunk - Hunk! - when he went to hug him shocked them all. It wasn’t the first weird thing they’d seen them doing over the past week, but it was the most concerning. Bonding was always their answer when asked, that they were bonding and that it would soon pass. Everything would return to normal.

But what did this have to do with bonding? They had been practically giddy a few days ago, obviously hiding something, but it seemed harmless.

Now they it was as if they wanted to kill everything in sight!

Oh, they seemed to be alright with each other, if you caught them without them seeing you, they were all soft looks and touches. Nauseatingly sweet, really. And Keith loved that his brother was happy, he really did, but he didn’t need to see it literally everywhere, goddammit. 

And now, now Keith almost wished he had the too-sweet-to-be-real stuff back, because this was worse. Having Shiro snap stung, a little, though he knew it wasn’t anything he’d done. Shiro had snapped at them all, everyone except Lance, and Lance had done the same. They were regretful soon after, though it didn’t stop whatever was pushing them towards this irritability. 

And they only blamed it on bonding, the tone taking an annoyed lilt now. Sharing a knowing glance between each other. Though neither seemed inclined to be more specific. It was really starting to grate, the word ‘bonding’. It explained nothing, while seeming to encompass everything. 

They acted as if it should be an explanation - sorry that the rest of them didn’t go to wolf school for wolves?

Keith inched his way past, mouth a hard line as the two tensed; not looking at him, though he could practically feel the build up. If he didn’t know another argument was imminent, Keith would demand to know what the hell was going on with them. 

Plead, no ask, for an explanation. It was worrying him. Shiro had always been honest with him, except when it came to this. The Wolf stuff. Oh, Shiro tried to explain, but it often came with the expectation of knowledge only another Wolf could have. Everything so ingrained and instinctual, that it was hard to put it into words. 

“Hunk’s almost finished with dinner,” Keith said, finally. From the door, far enough away that they didn’t have to deal with both proximity and voice. It was the only thing that seemed to work. A minor irritation over a major one. “If, if you don’t come, it’ll be in the kitchen, okay?”

No answer, not like he expected one.

Holding back bitter words, Keith turned to go back to the training room. Intending to take his frustration out on as many Gladiators as he could before Hunk hunted him down to force him to eat. 

“Thanks, Keith,” Keith froze, unwilling to turn back to set him off, almost choked at how good it was to hear Shiro’s voice not be angry. They’d gotten into arguments before, of course they have, but it had never lasted this long. And Keith had at least always known why. “Tell Hunk we’ll collect it from the kitchen, okay?”

Disappointed, but unwilling to set Shiro off and get into another argument, he nodded. “Yeah,” Keith said, realising it might be a bit difficult to see without them facing each other. “Yeah, okay. See you later?”

“Yeah,” Shiro said, warmly. “Yeah, I’ll see you later, okay Keith?”

Grinning, Keith left before anything could cause his mood to plummet again. He still didn’t get what was happening, and he was going to badger Shiro until he explained it in a way he could understand, but that was the first civil conversation he’d had with Shiro in days. And it felt so good. 

And Lance hadn’t snapped either, another thing that been happening. Talking to one set off the other, so maybe, maybe it was finally settling down? Whatever had caused this was over? Keith hoped so. 

Keith missed Shiro, confiding in him; just being around him. Hell, he even missed Lance.  
\----

Allura paused at the entrance to Shiro’s room, hand paused just before she knocked, catching the faint sound of talking from inside the room. Shiro was one, clearly, and the other Lance? What was he doing there? 

Fingers brushing the door, Allura opened it, a little guilty, a lot curious. Besides, she was there to talk with Shiro, there was no harm in making sure everything was fine, was there? And she needed to request an audience with him, Allura should check to see if he was free.

Justification made, Allura peeked in, though they obviously didn’t even notice they had company, far too focused on each other. Allura did not know what she expected, but it was not this. Looking from one to the other, they seemed to be grooming themselves; or, Lance was grooming Shiro, similar to Lance’s beloved daily skincare ritual. 

Lance had already done himself, settled in his comfortable robe and lion slippers, face-mask carefully applied. Hair band causing his hair to stick up in the funniest of ways. “Stay still, Shiro. C’mon, don’t you want wrinkle-free, soft skin?” Lance said, voice a mockery of stern, a teasing grin on his face. “Don’t you want people to fall at your feet, Shiro? Well, let the mask do it’s work!”

“Are you saying I’m not already beautiful, Lance?” Shiro said, attempting to keep a straight face, though there was laughter on the edge of his lips; in his eyes. It made Allura’s breath catch, to see him looking so happy. Had he always looked so young? “That people don’t already fall at my feet?”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Shut up, no talking, you’re ruining the face-mask!”

“Sir, yes, sir. “ Shiro said, snorting, before outright laughing at Lance’s yelp of dismay as he smudged the cream. Shiro’s hair getting the brunt of it. 

“Shiro!” Lance said, grabbing a towel and scrubbing his hair, ignoring Shiro’s attempts to escape. His grin wide, the lilt of villainy he imbued ruined by the laughter he is unable to keep out. “Beauty is pain, Shiro. Beauty is pain!”

They looked so carefree, it was startling. 

It brought a curious sensation to her chest, this unexpected sight. Though, perhaps not so unexpected, given recent events? They had all noticed the way Lance and Shiro gravitated towards each other, moreso in the last few days. 

Allura smiled, fondness almost making her giddy, as she gently left the way she came. Doing her best to stay silent, lest she disturb their ‘bonding’, as they took to calling it, trusting them to confide in the others in due time. It was no harm to leave them be for now; happiness like this was always a good thing, especially after the mood they had both been having recently, letting them have their privacy would do no ill. 

She could speak to Shiro of the matter later - it was less important. 

\-----

“Awww,” Hunk cooed, softly. He’d gone looking for Lance when he hadn’t arrived for breakfast, and by extension Shiro who also hadn’t arrived, but he hadn’t expected this. Two gigantic wolves curled up together; a slightly bigger black one and a brown one. Five guesses on who was who. Shiro even had his little white stripe, still! “Who’s a cute wittle wolf?”

When he’d first heard them say it, that they were bonding, it had been confusing. Hunk hadn’t understood it, properly. It hadn’t looked like bonding to him, some bizarre form of it. A fast-tracked friendship, dog-style; grooming, nuzzling, the works. 

But now, yeah. Hunk thinks he gets it. He hadn’t thought of it in Wolf terms.

Bonding - it meant something different to a Wolf. 

It brought on some scary changes, Lance had been regretful over the irritation he’d carried with him over those days Shiro and Lance didn’t allow them anyone to come near. Had explained, a little. That it was important and that it wasn’t aimed at them, Lance hadn’t meant it. Sometimes the Wolf pushed forward a little more than usual, not taking over, but more prominent. 

Hunk had pulled him into a hug, Hunk had never wanted to see Lance look so upset over something he couldn’t control. Yeah, it had been scary, and yeah, he did not want to go through that ever again. But he wasn’t about to blame Lance for it. 

But the other changes? It made Hunk take a step back, look at Lance and feel ecstatic for him. Oh, there was confusion for a time, before he’d come to his conclusion. But seeing his best bud laugh, be happy? Was the best thing ever.

Hunk knew Lance had his moments, missed his family something fierce, they’d talk about it, sometimes. But right here, right now? Lance seemed genuinely happy, lighter than air. Not to mention how Shiro was taking this, who they all knew was suffering - he wasn’t sneaky and the sooner he understood they were there for him the better - actually smile and mean it?

Well, this could only bring good things. 

Still! Platonic, hero worship his ass. Hunk was going to laugh about this til the day he died. If Lance thought he could escape the teasing, he had another thing coming. Pidge, he was sure, was already planning something. 

Veronica was going to laugh herself silly, having taken the brunt of Lance’s denials about Shiro for the longest time. Had never bought it, either.

Biting his lip, Hunk couldn’t quite resist quietly running to his room to grab a camera, snapping a few pictures. They were so adorable. And there was nothing like having photographic evidence that couldn’t be denied!

Pidge was going to love these. 

Hunk was sure Shiro and Lance would, too. But after this whole ‘bonding’ thing was over, the irritated snapping might make a comeback, and Hunk so didn’t want to be the target!

\-----

It was different, now. Back in the same place that he’d needed to think, before. Staring out at the stars. It had only been a week, and yet it felt like an eternity. So much had changed already, and it was still far from over, courtships tended to be long and drawn out affairs; a play at being pursued, though they both had won long before. 

Lance could almost burst at how happy he felt. As a child, he’d adored his Mamá’s stories of the process, loving the idea of it. The romance. As he’d grown older he’d lost a little bit of the wonder, still in love with the idea of love, but accepting that it wasn’t always a fairy-tale. Dreaming of the perfect courtship, but accepting that they didn’t happen often, if at all. 

“You must be a star,” Lance teased, adding a wink to it. “Because I can't stop orbiting around you.”

Encouraged by Shiro’s laughter, Lance leaned closer to Shiro, resting most of his weight on him.  
“Is it a full moon?” Lance said, too giddy to inject the proper flirtiness, though he did his best at fluttering his eyelashes.” Because I feel a tidal pull toward your heavenly body.”

“Lance,” Shiro snorted, metal arm covering his face; his other one around Lance’s waist, warm and perfect. Lance didn’t think he’d ever get tired of this. “Lance, stop, oh my god, that’s terrible.”

“Oh!” Lance pouted, hand over chest in mock-hurt. “Are you saying you could do better?”

“Yes.” Blunt, immediate answer. The absolute cheek. 

“Big words, Shiro, but where’s the proof?”

Shiro didn’t answer right away, instead shifting so he sat in front of Lance, eyes soft. Gently taking Lance’s hands in his own. “In this entire universe,“ Shiro said, so sincere it hurt. “All I want is you.”

Lance’s breath hitched, smiling so wide it ached. Trust Shiro to turn some light flirting with terrible lines into a confession, of sorts. “Not fair, Shiro.” Lance said. “I’m supposed to be the charmer in this relationship!”

Pulling Shiro down before he could reply, Lance nuzzled against his cheek, shifting to rub his nose against Shiro’s. Snorting as Shiro pushed insistently closer, a question in his eyes, which Lance answered with a kiss. On Shiro’s nose, his cheek, the corner of his lip; when Shiro lifted his hand to hold the back of his head, Shiro asked, “Lance, can I?”

Lance had barely gotten out a affirmative, before he was pulled into a soft, almost chaste kiss. It was a terrible kiss, honestly. Neither could stop smiling, more concerned with looking at each other than anything, but if you asked them it was perfect. Wonderful. 

Fairy tale courtships didn’t happen often, if at all, huh? Well, Lance would take those odds. 

They obviously hadn’t prepared for them.


End file.
